Or waiting in an airport and saying hello. Youre like me. I hear from your kids and grandchildren. My dad loves you, my grandmother loves you. We watched it till the end. After my conversation with nbc, i decided tonight will be my last hardball. Ill tell you why. The younger generations are ready to take the reigns. We see them in politics, the media, they have proven in the workplace. They grew up with better standards, fair standards. Compliments on a womans appearance some men, including me, might have once incorrectly thought were okay were never okay. Certainly not today. For making such comments in the past, im sorry. Im very proud of the work ive done here. Long before i went on television, i worked for years in politics, was a newspaper columnist and author. Im working on another book. Ill continue to write and talk about politics and cheer on my producers and crew here in washington and new york and my msnbc colleagues. They will continue to produce great journalism in the years ahead. For those who have gotten in the habit of watching hardball every night i hope youre going to miss me because ill missing you. Remember Humphrey Bogart in casablanca. Lets not say hardball, but till we meet again. So when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. Thats how you do it right. Usaa insurance is made just the way martins family needs it with hasslefree claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. Because doing right by our members, thats whats right. Usaa. What youre made of, were made for. Usaa i wanted more from my copd medicine thats why ive got the power of 1, 2, 3 medicines with trelegy. The only fdaapproved oncedaily 3in1 copd treatment. Trelegy the power of 1,2,3 trelegy 1,2,3 trelegy man with trelegy and the power of 1, 2, 3, im breathing better. Trelegy works three ways to open airways, keep them open and reduce inflammation, for 24 hours of better breathing. Trelegy wont replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. Trelegy is not for asthma. Tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. Do not take trelegy more than prescribed. Trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. Call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. Think your copd medicine is doing enough . Maybe you should think again. Ask your doctor about oncedaily trelegy and the power of 1, 2, 3. Trelegy, 1,2,3 man save at trelegy. Com. That was a lot to take in just now, im sure, and im sure youre still absorbing that and i am, too. Chris mathews is a giant. Hes a legend. Its been an honor for me to work with him, to sit in here on occasion. And i know how much you meant to him and i know how much he meant to you, and i think youre going to miss him and i know im going to. Not going to have any bells or whistles here. We do have to fill the rest of this hour. Going to take a quick break and come back with todays news. They get that no two people are alike and customize your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need. Almost done. What do you think . I dont see it. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. I have moderate to severe pnow, theres skyrizi. Things are getting clearer, yeah i feel free to bare my skin yeah thats all me. Nothing and me go hand in hand nothing on my skin thats my new plan. Nothing is everything. Keep your skin clearer with skyrizi. 3 out of 4 people achieved 90 clearer skin at 4 months. Of those, nearly 9 out of 10 sustained it through 1 year. And skyrizi is 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. I see nothing in a different way and its my moment so i just gotta say nothing is everything skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. Before treatment your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms such as fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches or coughs, or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. Nothing is everything ask your dermatologist about skyrizi. So chantix can help you quit slow turkey. Key. Along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. With chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting. Chantix reduces the urge so when the day arrives, youll be more ready to kiss cigarettes goodbye. When you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Stop chantix and get help right away if you have changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions, seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking, or lifethreatening allergic and skin reactions. Decrease alcohol use. Use caution driving or operating machinery. Tell your doctor if youve had Mental Health problems. The most common side effect is nausea. Quit smoking slow turkey. Talk to your doctor about chantix. How we worship, or who we love. And the 2020 census is how that great promise is kept. Because this is the count that informs where hundreds of billions in funding will go each year for things like education, healthcare, and programs that touch us all. Shape your future. Start here. Learn more at 2020census. Gov welcome back. Communities are cross the United States are bracing for additional outbreaks of the coronavirus as the administration escalates its response. There has been a spike in new cases. It has brought the total number of people with the coronavirus in the United States to 105. That is according to nbc news which has confirmed cases in 14 states, including the first one found in new york city. Those cases include the six people in Washington State who have died from the virus since saturday. Most concerning are the 20 cases that are suspected of being community spread. That means from person to person. The transmission of the disease was not associated with travel to infected regions. In a briefing late today, vicepresident mike pence said that the response to the outbreak is an all hands on deck effort. Despite todays sad news, lets be clear. The risk to the American People of the coronavirus remains low, according to all of the experts that were working with across the government. This president has said were ready for anything, but this is an all hands on deck effort. Meanwhile, in a meeting at the white house today, President Trump asked pharmaceutical executives to accelerate their work on a possible vaccine. Yet as you heard from one of his experts, a vaccine is still unlikely to be available to the public for at least a year. [ inaudible question ] i dont think they know what the time will be. Ive heard very quick numbers. A matter of months. Ive heard pretty much a year would be an outside number. So i think thats not a bad, thats not a bad range. But if youre talking about three to four months and a couple of cases, a year in other cases. Hes asking the question when is it going to be deployable. That is going to be the earliest a year to year and a half no matter how fast you go. This comes after the Washington Post reports, in Washington State the virus may have been spreading undetected for six weeks. That is according to a preliminary analysis of virus samples which suggest that, quote, the virus has eluded efforts to contain it through travel bans, quarantines and other interventions. Im joined now by jonathan lemire, reporter for associated press. Jane odonnell is policy reporter with usa today. And professor of Global Health law at georgetown university. Thanks to all of you for being with us. Jo jonathan lemire, let me start with you. We heard a little there from the president. The vicepresident spoke publicly today. Tell us your sense of the approach taking shape from this administration when it comes to coronavirus. Steve, first of all, Chris Mathews was an institution at msnbc for a long time. We wish him and his family well. In terms of the white house and the response to the virus, theyre breathing a little easier today on one level. Certainly there are two tracks here. Firstly, most importantly the Public Health crisis. That, of course, is a concern. We see the growing number of cases in the Washington State. There is a concerted effort by this white house to have a more consistent sober, somber approach. We are seeing the briefings from the vicepresident today. Vicepresident said we should have an expectation they will be frequent, perhaps on a daily base as they make him the face of this response. The information to the public and coordinating with the states. On the other track, markets have stabilized. They were up slightly today and halted at least temporarily the free fall from last week. We know the president has been deeply concerned about that. That this is something while he was in india last week, i was along with him as part of the press pool for that trip. He was constantly peppering aides looking for updates on the state of the virus and also the state of the stock market. Well hear from him tonight at a rally. This will be a test of his discipline. Last week when he spoke in the White House Briefing room, the markets reacted poorly. He tried to calm them. In fact, the dive only continued. The white house has had at least today, their messaging has been on target in their estimation. But aides i talked to the last few hours say they are holding their breath perhaps as to what the president will say tonight, whether he can kind of stay on track and try to keep americans calm because theres no question the number of cases here are only going to grow in the days ahead. Jane, what john is saying there does raise a question. How confident would you say Public Health officials are that they have a grasp of the scope of this in terms of impact on the United States . Well, first id like to mention that ive known Chris Mathews since he was a press secretary to tip oneal. I, too, share jonathans sadness or comment on that hell be missed. The Public Health officials publicly and the ones that are the frontfacing people say theyre confident. I have a story posting any minute, within an hour or so, how the Public Health departments have been decimated. The cdcs funding for the state and local Health Departments is down by about a third over the last, since 2002. There are way too few people to be dealing with this. When you start to get into whats called Contact Tracing where theyre having to figure out if i had it, how many people i came in contact with. It will overwhelm them. Having said that, this is not anything that people really need to worry about that much. There is a tremendous overreaction. People need to wash their hands, as they would for the flu, if they get coronavirus unless theyre elderly or over 65 and not well. Its like having a very bad flu. And, lawrence, there is that issue of the vaccine as well, the timetable there being quoted of a year, up to a year to get that. Realistically, is that what were staring at here . I think undoubtedly. I mean, were going to make huge progress in getting the vaccine. For a novel virus like this, ive never seen it so quick. And remember, we dont have we never did have a vaccine for the other coronaviruses like sars or mrs. So its deeply impressive nih is ri really strong. I would reiterate its been decimated. Not only at the state and local level, but the who you got rid of their Global Health security expertise on the National Security council. And so there are concerns about trying to really, you know, get a grip on this. I wouldnt under estimate it. This is not a common cold or a sniffle or a touch of the flu. Its a very serious infection that could spread very widely in the United States in the coming weeks. We could see social distancing, school closures. Our lives might be disrupted. And we need to be prepared for that. Politico reports that Administration Officials are blaming health and Human Services secretary alex azar for faulty testing kits which slowed the response to the outbreak, quoting from the story, the lack of test capacity forced u. S. Officials to screen a limited number of patients across january and february with the cdc testing fewer than 500 americans at the same time that china was likely testing at least 1 million of its own residents. The Washington Post reports interviews of nearly two dozen experts, officials and aides, quote, portray a white house scrambling to gain control of a rudderless response defined by bureaucratic infighting, confusion and misinformation. The role of alex azar being mentioned here, what is it . How would you define it . Right now hes shaping up to be the scapegoat if things dont go well. The reporting does lineup. The secretary hadish previously in the administration. He had clashes with high ranking Administration Officials. They did move slowly to start, in part, out of the president s respect for kmaens president xi jinping who is reluctant to upset by criticizing chinas response to the virus. Of course, it originated there. The president is in the middle of trade negotiations with china. He is someone who is always deferential to xi and was reluck tarnt tant to criticize, not blocking those who came from china. There was a sense there they were a step slow here. Theyre trying to play catch up ever since. The president is trying to be relentlessly positive. They have this under control, under counts the number of cases we have in the United States. Suggesting it shouldnt matter to the stock market. Suggesting it will go away. This virus will go away when the weather warms up. That seems to defer to the Health Experts at the table. That seems to be a dubious claim at best. What youre seeing here is an administration that is struggling to play catch up to get their wrap their arms around this crisis. And i think that if this does spiral out of control, if things do get worse, if there are more fatalities, if the market dips again significantly, you will see heads roll in the administration. Secretary azar is a good guess for the first one to go. Jean, what are the most immediate steps the administration should be taking here or needs to be taking here . What would Public Health experts say that is . Well, they certainly need to get the money to the local Health Departments. They need to have the test kits in the hands of the local Health Departments, local and state ones that are well prepared, and that are up to snuff. I mean, some of these Health Departments, equipment that was really that was beefed up after 9 11 has been ignored, so theyre not going to pass. They need to get the money where it matters and it often doesnt. I mean, the money often ends up in areas after the virus or whatever the virus is, ebola, after its already passed, thats when youre able to hire people. So there has to be a way there has to be an understanding. President trump said the other day he doesnt like paying people to just stand around. Theres enough health problems. The opioid epidemic, opioid crisis, opioid abuse he proclaimed 16 months ago. That is now going to get ignored. All these things are going to get ignored. So they wouldnt be standing around and people wouldnt be they need to be planning and preparedness. Because we know this is going to happen again. Lawrence, talk a little if you would about the significance. We talk about the lack of test capacity, the significance of that in this sort of burgeoning stage of this. Yeah. I mean, test capacity is important because, you know, we have so few cases because weve tested so few people. And so as you mentioned, in china, south korea, japan, theres been quite a lot more testing, so you cant really track an epidemic and bring it under control if you dont know if exists. But let me just come back to the funding because you really made a very good point. One of the things thats dismayed me is that when the president put his emergency appropriation into congress, it was just north of 2 billion. Half of that 2 billion was going to come out of hhss own budget, where as we needed at least 10 billion just based upon h1n1 and other and west africa ebola. And when the president said, well, ill take what they give me, it seems to me that a leader really should say, this is what we need. This is what were going to spend it on. And this is why we need it to spend it on these things. And there are a lot we need to spend it on. State and local Health Departments. Were going to see a real run on hospitals, so were going to need ventilateerors, protective equipment for medical staff. Were going to need a Global Health capacity, which has been decimated, too, to actually go to the source of the next epidemic and try to snuff it out there rather than fight ing it in u. S. Soil. So we do have a huge catch up to deal with right now. Isnt that the Epidemiological Intelligence Service i learned of today . Thats been cut. Those are the people Epidemiological Intelligence Service is the world class service. Thats what trains our finest epidemiologists around the world. Theyve been cut. Their Global Health capacity in countries have been cut. State and local Health Departments have been cut. You know, one of the things that really strikes me is that if you thought about the security of america and you were to say, whats our biggest threat . Is it chemical . Is it nuclear . Most people will say its biological. Its naturally occurring epidemics, and yet theres no post in the National Security council covering that. I think that speaks volumes. All right. Lawrence gostin, jane odonnell, jonathan lemire, thank you to all of you. This is a very important this is a very serious topic. You added some useful information, valuable insight to ti know the circumstances tonight are highly unusual. I appreciate you bearing with that. Jane and john, i also appreciate those nice words you had to say about chris there. Im level with the audience at home. Again, i know if you saw the beginning of the show, i know where your mind is. You can probably tell my mind is there as well. Like i said, we have to get through the hour anyway. Thats how the world works, so we are doing that, but i know where all of our thoughts are now. Coming up, there are major developments in the president ial race. The moderate wing of the democratic party, some of his former rivals, closing rank around joe biden, Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttiegieg supporting joe biden. Well talk about how that affects the primary on super tuesday tomorrow. Stay with us. Our family is from . What about here . Here . Here . Daddy, is that where were from . Well, actually. Were from a lot of places. You see were from here and there and here. Turn questions youve always had into stories you cant wait to share; with ancestry. And my lack of impulse control, turn questions youve always had into stories is about to become your problem. Ahh no, come on. I saw you eating poop earlier. My focus is on the road, and thats saving me cash with drivewise. Hills. You crush them. Kind of. Kale. You eat it for breakfast. Sometimes. You go far to eliminate stubborn fat. But sometimes life gets in the way. Coolsculpting takes you further. A nonsurgical treatment that targets, freezes, and eliminates treated fat cells. Discuss coolsculpting with your doctor. Some common sideeffects include temporary numbness, discomfort, and swelling. Dont imagine results, see them. Coolsculpting. Take yourself further. Go to coolsculpting. Com for a chance to win 25,000. Welcome back, folks. Eve of super tuesday, 1344 delegates tomorrow. Obviously the nature of this democratic race, it seems to be changing. It seems to be changing dramatically. It seems to be changing quickly. I keep saying the word change because im hoping the screen will change from blank. So far it hasnt. Maybe it will and well talk a little more about whats on that map right there. Before that or until that, i can at least talk to you about where this race stands right now. There you go. Here we go. Super tuesday, march 3rd, that is tomorrow. Boy, im on a roll tonight. 1344 delegates up for grabs tomorrow. Obviously the story here, joe biden coming out of South Carolina on saturday. Clearly theres new life in his campaign. The immediate challenge for him is a week ago, if you looked at this map and you looked at the polls and these states that are highlighted right here, you would have said Bernie Sanders is on the verge of running away with super tuesday. He was going to roll up a big win in california, looks like hes going to win texas comfortably. Shut biden out in colorado, minnesota, massachusetts, a bunch of those states. Maybe sanders was going to win virginia and north carolina. You would say Bernie Sanders is going to be 350, 400 delegates ahead of joe biden and thats it. Hes on his way to the nomination. Well, guess what. Since saturday, since that big joe biden win in South Carolina, weve start today see poll numbers change. Weve had a couple polls come out of california since that primary in South Carolina on saturday. The polls showing biden. Theres the average of them right now. If you take all the polls that have come in in the last couple days and put them all together, thats what you get and look at that. Biden at 18 . That probably doesnt look like much. Youre looking at that and saying, what are you talking about kornacki, biden is getting blown out 21. Biden has over 15 . You can get delegates, statewide delegates. Youre going to start getting delegates at the Congressional District level. Bottom line when you look at numbers like that, instead of Bernie Sanders getting 300 delegates out of california, which is what his campaign was hoping for after heading into last saturday, instead of Bernie Sanders getting 300 delegates, his margin over biden very, very much reduced if biden can get over 15. If another candidate like warren there can also get over 15, then sanders gets even fewer delegates. Theres bloomberg sitting there could move up to 15 as well, that would further erode Bernie Sanders and his delegate haul he was hoping to et go out of california. Theres been movement in california. Obviously with klobuchar get you out of the race in minute anyone, thats set to vote tomorrow. If you looked at the polls in minnesota before South Carolina, looked like biden wasnt going to get a single delegate out of the state. Meanwhile, it looked like sanders was going to get like 40 delegates out of the state. Well, with klobuchar out of the way theres the poll. Biden was sitting at 8 . This was taken like days before South Carolina. It was klobuchar, it was sanders. In a poll like this, those were the only two. Results like that, those are the only two that would get delegates. Biden, theres indications hes moving up in the polls. Klobuchar now dropping out of the race, shes not going to get 29 probably tomorrow. There is an opportunity there for joe biden to get over 15 to get delegates in minnesota, even if he falls short of Bernie Sanders, even if he loses the state to Bernie Sanders, hes not getting blown out in the delegate count. This is a delegate race now. Thats what were talking about right here. Bernie sanders, joe biden, warren is trying to gobble up as many as she can. Tomorrow california, massachusetts is another opportunity for her. Obviously we are going to be covering this. Theres massachusetts. Just take a look at massachusetts for a minute. Again, this is a poll that came out saturday night. Think about this. Saturday night joe biden is winning by 30 points in South Carolina. Best night of his political career, right . This poll comes out at the same time. Biden sitting at 11 in massachusetts. In a poll like this he would get zero delegates. But the Biden Campaign hopes with what has happened in the last couple days, buttigieg dropping out, klobuchar dropping out, biden getting the momentum from South Carolina, hes going to be able to move up from 11 to north of 15, maybe to get to 20, maybe to even an ideal scenario for them contend in massachusetts, its the difference between getting zero delegates and getting dozens of delegates. And for joe biden, it has just changed the equation completely. Again, a week ago we were looking at biden getting absolutely flattened super tuesday and sanders running away with it. Now there is some real suspense heading into tomorrow night. Thats what were going to be tracking from 6 00 p. M. , i think our coverage starts at 6 00 p. M. , from 6 00 p. M. On, it is the delegate race. Sanders, its biden, its warren, its bloomberg. Going to be a very interesting night. Very much looking forward to it and i hope you will join us for that as well. We are going to take never came on. It happens around these parts. Its okay. One of those nights and i think it is very understandable around here given everything thats happening right now. Still ahead, bidens big win in South Carolina change the trajectory of this race . It is looking more like a twoman race between bide skpen sanders. Stay with us. howling wind howling wind doctor bob, what should i take for back pain . Before you take anything, i recommend applying topical relievers first. Salonpas lidocaine patch blocks pain receptors for effective, nonaddictive relief. Salonpas lidocaine. Patch, rollon or cream. 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Virus man the markets are plunging for a second straight day. Vo Health Experts warn the us is underprepared. Managing a crisis is what Mike Bloomberg does. In the aftermath of 911, he steadied and rebuilt americas largest city. Oversaw Emergency Response to natural disasters. Upgraded hospital preparedness to manage health crises. And hes funding Cutting Edge Research to contain epidemics. Tested. Ready. Mike im Mike Bloomberg and i approve this message. Billions of problems. Morning breath . Garlic breath . Stinky breath . Theres a therabreath for you. Therabreath fresh breath oral rinse instantly fights all types of bad breath and works for 24 hours. So you can. Breathe easy. Theres therabreath at walmart. Welcome back. With super tuesday, the largest voting day of the president ial campaign so far now just hours away, the reshaped field of candidates shows what a difference a win can make with former vicePresident Joe Biden after that decisive victory he had in South Carolina on saturday. The number of candidates now stands at five, including former new york mayor Mike Bloomberg who will appear on the ballot tomorrow the first time. The moderate lane of the party appears to be consolidating around biden. Senator Amy Klobuchar called it quits this afternoon. She is expected to publicly endorse biden at a rally in dallas next hour. And after Pete Buttiegieg dropped out yesterday, he spoke to biden by phone and nbc news has confirmed he will endorse biden in dallas, although its not clear if hell do it publicly at tonights rally. 14 states are up for grabs. Tomorrow we were just taking you through this more than onethird of all delegates at stake, 1,344 of them. Get used to that number. Youre going to be hearing that a lot tomorrow. As biden focuses on texas tonight, Bernie Sanders is in minnesota at this hour. And today before klobuchar dropped out, sanders suggested the consolidation is part of an effort by the establishment to stop him. Are you concerned about the moderates consolidating behind joe biden . Look, it is no secret the Washington Post had 16 articles today on this that there is a massive effort trying to stop Bernie Sanders. Thats not a secret to anybody in this room. The corporate establishment is coming together. The political establishment is coming together. And they will do everything. They are really getting nervous that working people are standing up. For more im joined by Maria Teresa Kumar for voto latino. Gene scott and joe trippy, democratic strategist. Thanks to all of you for being with us. Ill say to you what i said to the panel a few minutes ago. I think we know what is on everybodys mind. This is an unusual and difficult circumstance for all of us. All of you are receipt vans of this show. Maria teresa kumar, you knew chris well and you had something you wanted to say. Ill open the floor and let you say it. I want to a thanks to chris. Its almost to the day ten years ago when i first appeared on super tuesday and he interviewed me. He wanted to talk about the latino vote. I have to say his veracity for wanting information and for giving this kid a shot. Im forever grateful to him. Joe, same thing to you. I know you have something to say. Go ahead. Look, right i ran the Dean Campaign in 2004, i think chris was one of the people that got me in at msnbc. I was there for a few years on hardball. Gosh, more times than i can count. It was a joe every time. It was a blast. And about three days ago called and asked if id come back and do the show tonight. And this is not what i was expecting, but, no, best to him and it is as much shock as anybody else. Eugene, i know your appearances dont date back to 2004, but this isnt your first one either. Ill give you a second as well. Absolutely. Within weeks of starting at the Washington Post, chris had me on hardball to talk about identity politics issues related to race and, quite frankly, millennials as well. So its really important and valuable for him to acknowledge that a generational shift is happening, a new day has come. He wants to provide more opportunities for the political and journalists to tell the story of where our nation is going. As a youre for years, i was a viewer before i was a guest anchor for this show. He loved bringing new people on. I could see he loved hearing different stories. Understands people. Always came through to me. The other thing that came through with me with chris, he loved politics and politics is in the air tonight. Lets talk with that. Joe trippy, im going to start with you. Ive watching what is happening with Bernie Sanders right now. The socalled establishment, whatever you want to call it, consolidating, trying to stop him. Is he going through what you and the howard Dean Campaign went through in 2004 . Well, everybody, every candidate goes through this. If you move to the front, everybody else tries to take you down and stop you. And currently, you know, until a couple days ago he was the clear front runner. I dont think theres any doubt about that. So weve watched this with other people as they surged this year. I suspect its turning it into a twoperson race now because of how joe biden performed in South Carolina. The real thing now is which one of them can unify the party. And if more of the other candidates start to unify behind joe biden or we dont know, i have no idea what Elizabeth Warren or steyer or some of the other potential candidates, if they, as they get out and she may hang around. Again, how do you consolidate the party . How do you both of them are going to have to expand the coalition that theyve built up to this point to have any chance of getting to 50 of the delegates at the convention. Talking about this consolidation, biden has been gathering a growing collection of endorsements since that win in South Carolina, in super tuesday states and beyond. But former president barack obama is still officially on the side lines in this race. Bloomberg news said obama did call bide tone congratulate him on the South Carolina win. Obama has a hidden hand in an effort to unite around biden. People close to the president said they are keeping close tabs in the race. In the past 36 hours he sees biden as the candidate to back and they dont nido bama to say it publicly or privately. Eugene, its interesting. People in this article dont need anybody publicly or privately. The jim clyburn endorsement in South Carolina, we had that exit poll. Half the electorate in South Carolina said that was an important consideration. Ive got to imagine if jim clyburn and South Carolina can do that for a candidate, barack obama nationally could also have a pretty big impact. Do you think there is a chance of something public from him . Eventually, certainly if he is the nominee. But i think the president and his wife have been very vocal earlier in this race. They wanted to stay out of this as long as possible. But i think eugene, i hate to do this. I dont mean to interrupt, but we actually do have some breaking news here. We can show you, we said we werent sure if Pete Buttiegieg was going to be endorsing joe biden tonight. Here they are together. Dallas, texas, this rally weve been talking about. Joe biden just walked in. The pictures youre seeing on your screen, joe biden and Pete Buttiegieg together. I guess its theoretically possible that Pete Buttiegieg is there for some other purpose than to endorse joe biden, but i assume this is not a coincidence. Im sure. Yeah. I assume, you know, hes not there to go to the chilis next door. It looks like that endorsement now is coming, so youve got the spectre now, the prospect of a buttigieg standing with biden, klobuchar standing with biden, and three candidates really becoming one candidate on the eve of super tuesday. Eugene, your reaction. I didnt mean to interrupt you there, but your reaction to the pictures were now seeing. I remember when i was in iowa shortly before the caucus, so many of the voters who picked buttigieg actually thought highly of biden and wanted to support him, but wanted a new direction im interrupting you again. Im sorry. Pete buttiegieg is talking. When i ran for president we made it clear the whole idea was about rallying the country together to defeat donald trump and to win the era for the values that we share. And that was always a goal that was much bigger than me becoming president and it is in the name of that very same goal that im delighted to endorse and support joe biden for president of the United States. [ cheers and applause ] and i do it with great pleasure knowing just how much we need to do, not only to win, which is so very important. And when i say win, not just win back the white house, but make sure we bring those vitally important house and senate and local races with us. We can hear it for that. [ applause ] but also weve got to do it in a way that starts to change the toxic and divisive nature of our politics right now. We cant go on like this. And weve got a politics right now that makes it sound like being loudest is tantamount to being right. We need a politics thats about decency, a politics that brings back dignity. And that is what we sought to practice in my campaign. Thats what joe biden has been practicing his entire life. So, what we see right now is an opportunity, not just to meet that imperative of getting a new and better president , but of doing it with a leader who will practice that way of rallying people together, with ideas that are big enough to unite the American People. Of all generations. [ laughter ] and if you think about it, on some of the most important issues affecting my generation and the next generation [ laughter ] climate change, gun violence, joe biden has been delivering on those very priorities. From taking on the nra and winning, to negotiating the paris climate accord, to shepherding the passage of the Affordable Care act. This is what has made it possible for us to achieve what has been achieved, and that is why i have such confidence that as President Joe Biden will take the ball further as it needs to go. But its even more than that. Its the need to bring back dignity to the white house. Yes. When we have a president who is tearing this country [ cheers and applause ] and the country already knows without me having to say so, but i want you to know how unbelievably and unfailingly decent i have known vicepresident biden to be. From his visits to south bend while he was vicepresident to my visits as a mayor to the white house during the Obamabiden Administration to especially the experiences ive had getting to know him while competing with him. He is somebody of such extraordinary grace and kindness and empathy. From taking time to talk to somebody who struggles to speak, to taking time for a family thats struggling with loss. He will bring the exact kind of empathy that is so badly lacking in this white house, and along the way in his campaign, will draw us together as we need a leader to do. I commented last night, and ive often said that politics at its best is more than policy. Its soul craft. And so its fitting that i am joining to support a campaign that speaks so often about the soul of this nation. I dont believe the world is divided up into people who are all good and people who are all bad. I dont believe that how you voted in the past makes you good or bad. I believe that each of us can have good things and bad things brought out of us, and thats why leadership is so important. Im looking for a leader, im looking for a president who will draw out what is best in each of us. And im encouraging everybody who is part of my campaign to join me, because we have found that leader in vicepresident , soon to be President Joe Biden. [ cheers and applause ] folks, well, i tell you what. Folks, this is i cant tell you how much i appreciate petes endorsement. And i know for petes supporters, from the mayor to many people that are here, this is also a bitter sweet moment because youve supported a man of enormous integrity, a fellow who has as much moral courage as he has physical courage. And i really mean that. There hasnt been a harsh word between us since we started to compete. And i think that its clear to everyone that this is a man who is not only brilliant, but is decent. And this is a man who, when i called pete when i got out, which surprised me when he said he was going to suspend his campaign, i didnt ask pete to endorse me, but i calendled himd told him we needed him to stay engaged, we needed him badly to be involved. Because when he talked to the campaign and debates about passing the torch to the next generation, thats absolutely essential. And i am absolutely confident with further exposure of the nation to pete and to all he stands for and all hell do and all he can do that there is no limitation on what this man can get done. And the fact that hes prepared to help me is means a great deal to me. I dont think ive ever done this before, but he reminds me of my son bo. And i know that may not mean much to most people, but to me its the highest compliment i could give any man or woman. And that is that, like bo, he had a backbone like he has a backbone like a ramrod. I really mean this. Think about it. Youve heard me some of you have heard me say this before. When i got elected same age pete got elected, 29, people would come up to me because i won it must have been some secret. Theyd come up to me and say whats the secret . I said theres one secret. You shouldnt get engaged unless you know whats worth losing over. Pete knows whats worth losing over. Pete knows why he gott engaged, knows why he is there. Thats why i am absolutely confident he will stay engaged. I warned pete if i were lucky enough to get the nomination, that i would be asking him to join. Im asking him to be involved in this process because there are a generation of leaders of petes age like my son bo who have unlimited potential, unlimited potential. The only thing that stands in their way is access and opportunity to be able to be known nationally. If pete had been around another six years, i wouldnt be standing here. Pete would be standing. Id be endorsing pete. No, i really mean it. I really mean it. So, folks, you know, the other point i want to make is this. That the reason i and we talk after debates, we talk during the interim periods when were backstage. The reason that i admire him so much and the reason why i think were so sympatic when we represent two generations, pete knows the role of the president is not just a fight, its not just to win, but its to heal. This country needs to be healed. Yes, sir. Thank you, mr. Vicepresident. No, i mean it. Youre right. [ applause ] pete gets it. I talk many times about the plight i think of things like pete does. Its all about you. Its all about family. Its all about community. And it really is. Thats what got pete engaged. Thats what got me involved. Its never changed. When i left the vicepresidency when our term ended, i thought a long time about what to do. And i had opportunities to take advantage, some significant opportunities for a kid who was listed as the poorest guy in the senate all those years. But i decided that, having the conversation, ill end with this with my son bo. Im sorry to talk about my son bo so much, but he was my soul. And i remember him knowing that he only had a little time to live and asking me whether wed go home every weekend, joe and i because he only lichlved where the crow flies. Wed have dinner every weekend. He asked my wife and i to take the children upstairs because he wanted to talk. He said, dad, i know no one loves me more than you do, but i want you to know im going to be okay, even though we knew it was going to be a matter of months. Its going to be okay. He looked at me and said, he said, dad, i want you to promise me youre going to be okay. Some of the presses heard me say this, i wrote a book about bo, promises to keep. When i went on to talk about that was the first book i wrote. Then i wrote another book about bo, promise me, dad. And what it was all about is what petes all about. He said, promise me, dad, youre going to stay engaged. He knew i would take care of his family and do whatever would need to be done. But he thought i would withdraw and move away. And he looked at me and he said, dad, look at me. Promise me, give me your word as a biden. Give me your word, dad, youre going to be okay. I knew what that meant. He didnt want me to walk away from what ive done my whole life, be engaged in policies that are designed to lift people up, no matter what their background, no matter what their circumstances, to reach out. Im no hero by any stretch of the imagination, but i stayed engaged. And when i stand on the stage sometimes and a couple people who have been the press has been assigned to me, theyve heard me say it. I just hope hes proud of me. And i look over at pete during the debates and i think, i think, you know, thats a bo because he has such enormous character, such intellectual capacity, and such a commitment to other people. And, folks, i cant tell you how much it means to me that he would step up and endorse me. He didnt even tell me when we spoke he was going to endorse me. But i just cant tell you how much i appreciate it because i promise you, youre going to end up over your lifetime seeing a hell of a lot more pete than you are of me. [ cheers and applause ] thank you, thank you. [ inaudible question ] thank you, mr. Mayor. You are watching that press conference there wrap up. That was joe biden, the former vicepresident being endorsed by his now former rival, the former mayor of south bend, Pete Buttiegieg, an event at dallas. Again, as that was happening, we just got word that another former biden rival, beto orourke also set to endorse joe biden. And there was news earlier that senator Amy Klobuchar also getting out of the race will endorse joe biden. So three endorsements in one day for joe biden from former rivals. This, again, on the heels of that big victory he had in South Carolina over the weekend and his Campaign Hopes that tomorrow on super tuesday, he will be close, at least, in their view, to Bernie Sanders in the delegates and maybe have a much better super tuesday than things were shaping up to be for him just a couple days ago. Its funny how fast things can change in politics. Remember what we were saying a week ago, remember what were saying now. Keep that in mind the next time we tell you something. Anyway, i want to thank the guests who were there, by the way, im sorry we didnt get to use them. Maria teresa kumar, thank you for being with us. Scott, joe trippy. Very unusual awkward circumstances tonight. Appreciate you rolling with us. Thank you for that. Thank you. Before we go tonight, i do want to say a few words about tonights news, top of this show. What ive loved about Chris Mathews is how much he loved politics. That is what has always come through to me. He knew the dark side of politics just like we all do. He knew about the ugly unflattering aspects of humanity that politics can bring out and even reward. The things that rightly turn off so Many Americans to all of it. Chris could see something beyond that. He could see the possibility that politics could also be used for something noble, even amidst all that human frailty. Before he came to the media world, chris lived it as a top aide to the speaker of the house, tip oneal. I have always, always loved hearing chris tell stories from those days with tip. He also wrote about it. He is a heck of a writer. Hes punchy, hes funny, hes deeply insightful. The game of politics is always changing, its always evolving. What never changes is the force that drives all of it. Human nature, human beings trying to gain power, hold power, use power. And that was the essential insight of the book that introduced so Many Americans to one christopher mathews. I still got the copy. This is from my office, 32 years ago. Hardball how politics is played told by one who knows the game. That was the book that launched it all. And, boy, did it live up to its title. Lessons about loyalty, about ego, about ambition, about risk. You can pick up this book today and you can learn just as much about politics, just as much about people as someone 30 years ago picking up the book could. This is what chris brought to television. He brought his Boundless Energy and curiosity. I first watched chris when i was a teenager in the mid 1990s. The show wasnt called hardball back then. It was called politics with Chris Mathews. Msnbc didnt exist. It was on cnbc when i first watched it. But i saw it right away, the passion for politics, the love of himery, deep patriotism, the quest for purpose and the fascination of people. I watched it with chris. The people he disagreed with, sparred with, he was trying to figure them out, trying to make sense of them, trying to understand them on some level. It was riveting television then and now. Chris mathews has plenty of intellect, but he also wasnt afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve. It is what made him so compelling. It is what created such a deep bond between him and you, the viewer. Ive seen it. Ive witnessed it. And the scene has always been the same. Im at some big political event, a debate, convention, big political speech. Chris is there, too, and there is a huge crowd there for the event. Chris walks out, and the crowd goes wild. Chris doesnt just smile and wave, he dives in. He shakes hands, he talks them up. He jokes with them. They love him and he loves them back. Of all the Television Personalities ive ever known as a viewer, chris is the most human, and i say that as one of the highest compliments i can pay to someone. Im sorry. I think you got him, and i think he got you. And all of us are going to miss him. Thats hardball for now. Thanks for watching. All in with chris hayes starts right now. Tonight on all in live from los angeles. The democrats want a nominee who is a democrat. [ cheers and applause ] klobuchar and buttigieg will back biden. We have a clear choice of who is going to lead this party. Tonight, the earthquake in the democratic field ahead of super tuesday. Every vote matters tomorrow. And what it all means for the allimportant delegate map. Plus. We have 43 domestic cases. New cases and new coronavirus deaths. The person who tested positive was only the 32nd test weve done in the state. That is a national scandal. Tonight alarming new reporting about the government response to an ongoing pandemic. A lot of very exciting things are happening and theyre happening very rapidly. Live from stage 20 at Universal Studios hollywood in los angeles when all in starts right now. [ applause ] hello, los angeles. Hello, everybody. How are we doing . Good to see you